Commodities markets summary

Oil prices have risen, with the New York contract stabilising, as traders braced for a weekend that could see escalating geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The US benchmark futures contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September, edged up two US cents to $US102.09 a barrel.

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In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in September settled at $US108.39 a barrel, leaping $US1.32 from Thursday's closing level.

Traders were making some "re-adjustment" to the WTI price after it fell by $US1.05 on Thursday, said Bob Yawger of Mizuho Securities.

PRECIOUS METALS

Gold prices have rebounded as investors step in to scoop up the metal amid conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, on Friday closed up $US12.50, or one per cent, to $US1,303.30 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The rally brought gold back above the psychologically important $US1,300-an-ounce level, which the metal broke on Thursday for the first time since July 16.

Russia has escalated the violence in Ukraine and could transfer sophisticated rocket systems to pro-Russia rebels there as soon as Friday, US defence officials said, stepping up an already tense confrontation between the West and Moscow. Fighting between Israel and Hamas, meanwhile, showed little sign of abating, despite a renewed US push for a truce in the conflicts.

The geopolitical instability helped buoy prices for gold.

BASE METALS

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed mixed as some metals within the complex scale back some earlier gains.

At the close of open-outcry trading in the London ring on Friday, LME three-month copper was 0.6 per cent down on the day at $US7,125 per metric ton.

Aluminium fell 1.4 per cent to $US1,996 per ton, while three-month lead closed 1.3 per cent higher at $US2,266.50 per ton.

"Being Friday, profit-taking would be expected. This could well have been the case for LME prices which fell away during the London afternoon session," said Liz Grant, a senior account executive at brokerage Sucden Financial.